2024-03-03 - Familial Revelations, Part 1
| Title: Familial Revelations, Part 1 | |
|---|---|
| Summary: Raiko and Shiori attempt to enact a ritual to finally empower Shiori as a fully-fledged familiar. It fails, but they take some time to reflect and regroup, and Raiko makes an admission to Shiori. | |
| Who: | |
| Where: Raiko's Home (Chofu Suburban District) | |
| OOC - IC Date: 3/3/2024 - Friday, May 20, 2016 | |
Magic filled the air of Kenji Takashima's office, stirred gently to life by the breath of its two living inhabitants. The Witch of Wise Levin sat on the floor in her henshin, eyes closed and her breathing steady. She felt the magic swirling around her, gently brushing against her. To draw it in was a delicate process, reaching out with her mind to not grasp but to suggest a shape and a path it might follow. The strands of magic were gossamer thin and just as delicate; they had to be, for the working they were undertaking was complex and intricate.
But Levin was not alone in this undertaking. Across from her sat her familiar, Shiori. The calico tabby was sitting upright, mirroring Levin's posture. Her eyes were closed, and she was also taking slow, gentle breaths in time with Levin's own. The familiar was undertaking the same working, the two of them working in tandem to try and create a spell of the utmost intricacy together.
The last participant of the ritual was The Staff of Wise Levin itself. It was laid out on the floor between witch and familiar both. No lightning danced up and down its length, but the yellow crystal at the top of its staff was pulsing with a faint inner light, slowly strobing in rhythm with the breath of the two other participants. The Witch had her hands on the staff, and Shiori had her front paws on it as well. The Staff was the conduit between the two, and magic flowed out from it into the other two, and then was supposed to flow from them, back through the staff, and into each other.
It was beginning to take shape, the pattern starting to form that would link witch and familiar to each other. Shiori made an offer of a strand of magic and the Witch of Wise Levin accepted it, but as she was working with it it slipped from her grasp. On instinct she made a desperate grab for it--but the action was too violent, and it shattered the nascent spell. The staff dimmed, and Levin let out a frustrated grunt as she tossed herself onto her back, releasing her henshin.
Raiko let out a frustrated groan, now dressed in a pair of light blue overalls and a t-shirt. "Uggggh. I felt like we almost had it that time." She threw an arm over her forehead as she stared up at the ceiling. "Sorry, Shiori."
Strolling up to Raiko's side, Shiori shook her head. "Do not be so hard on yourself, dear. It is a most delicate spell, and you have made tremendous strides in casting it. Your hard work and persistence will pay off, in the end."
"I knowwww," whined Raiko gently. "But we've tried to cast it like..." She quickly tallied it in her head. "14 times now."
"Raiko, dear, this is a most demanding spell. To bind two minds together, willingly, and without damaging either is a tremendous undertaking. Not only that, we must both open ourselves willingly to the other for the spell to take hold. That you have made the progress you have is remarkable. There are not many who share the requisite amount of trust, nor the capacity to understand the finer details as you have."
Reaching with the arm that had been draped over her forehead, Raiko gently scratched behind Shiori's ears. "Thanks. That makes me feel better." She sat back up. "Alright, Attempt number 15, I guess."
Shaking her head, Shiori walked to the door to the office instead. "Let's take a break, dear. You could use something to eat."
"I'm fine--" Raiko started to protest, only to be cut off by her stomach rumbling. She blushed, and then slowly nodded. "Okay, okay. Guess I hadn't noticed how hungry I'd gotten." She reached out to touch her staff, which vanished in a small spray of sparkles, then stood up. "Alright then."
The two headed downstairs together, into the kitchen. Shiori jumped up onto the kitchen table, while Raiko set about filling a small pot with water and setting it on the stove to boil. From a small grocery bag she pulled out a cup noodle and opened the lid, then set that aside while she waited for the water to boil.
"Raiko, dear, you really should vary your diet more," said Raiko gently.
"I know, I know, but you said I couldn't store anything perishable, remember?" Raiko patted the bag. "So this is the only stuff I can keep here."
"I did say that, yes, but you should buy a few pieces of fruit the next time we go to the store. They'll keep for a few days, and if we are making frequent trips here you'll have plenty of opportunities to eat them." Shiori gave Raiko a flat look. "Just because the cookies are full of preservatives..."
"Eheheh." Raiko had the good grace to at least look sheepish. "I got them for... emotional support? We're kinda going through a lot, you know..."
Shiori regarded Raiko silently for a moment and then sighed softly. "I suppose you are, at that. 'Emotional support' is fine in the short-term, but please do consider the long-term."
Nodding thoughtfully, Raiko regarded her pot of water for a moment as she considered. "What if I bought some granola? Or maybe some trail mix? They've got the kind with dried fruits in it, and nuts..." She gave Shiori a smile. "And I'll even try to find one that doesn't have a lot of extra sugar added."
"Yes, I believe that will be an excellent choice," said the familiar. She looked at Raiko and slowly closed her eyes before slowly opening them again. "Thank you."
Raiko smiled back at Shiori and returned the slow blink. When the water started to boil, she finished preparing her cup noodle, then brought it to the table with a glass of water. She stirred it with her chopsticks to help it cool and cook evenly.
Shiori curled up on the table, watching the steam billow off of the cup. "So how was your day at school?"
"Oh, it was good," replied Raiko. "I surprised everyone in my magic class by answering a really hard enchantment question, so... That felt nice." She sighed. "And then I completely flubbed one about potions. And I thought I was getting the hang of those, too..."
"Do not be disheartened. You are making tremendous strides. I can help you review those questions later."
"Thanks, Shiori. I really appreciate it."
"You are most welcome, dear... How was the rest of your day?"
Raiko tested the temperature of her cup noodle and then took a small bite from it as she considered the question. "Well... I've got a bunch of homework, but that's not really news..." She chewed on both the noodles and the question in silence for a moment more. "Well... I guess there was this one thing..."
Shiori lifted her head up to show interest. "Do tell, dear."
The girl's cheeks flushed as she stared at her cup noodle. "W-well... at lunch there were some girls discussing a new show that sounded super interesting. And one of them had a super cute hair clip, and I wanted to go up to them and ask about the show and tell her I thought her hair clip was cute but..." Raiko groaned and planted her head on the table before muttering, "... I chickened out at the last moment."
The vagaries of a teenage girl's heart were not something Shiori was prepared to address. But she did not need to understand that to see how her charge was suffering. "Raiko..." The feline's ears flattened in sympathy, and she got up to approach Raiko and offer a soft nuzzle to her cheek. "I'm sorry, dear."
Raiko sat back up again and reached up to pet Shiori's back. "I don't get it, I've fought ogres, wraiths, Conflagria twice, I can fly, and I even reverse-engineered an ancient relic's enchantment. Why does this seem so hard all of a sudden?"
Shiori purred gently, mainly for Raiko's benefit. "In the matters of your duties, you have a great deal of assistance. Myself, the staff, and of course, your fellow inheritor, Yumi. While I and the staff cannot offer the same assistance in your mundane associations, perhaps Yumi may well have some insight?"
Raiko thought about that for a moment but then shook her head. "I... yeah, but she's going through a lot right now too, you know? I dunno if... now's a good time to bother her with stuff like that."
"Hmm... Perhaps you should ask, and let her decide if she is willing to offer that assistance. But what about your clubs? It has been quite some time since you engaged with those regularly. The students there will all have a common interest, so perhaps it will be easier to engage them in conversation."
The guilt of skipping out on her clubs for so long made Raiko hang her head. "I guess... but that feels so awkward, too, you know? I'm not exactly... popular, you know?"
Shiori leaned her head down to rub her cheek against Raiko's arm. "It may well be difficult, dear, and I do not have any easy answers. But I hope you have learned recently that you are so much braver and stronger--and wiser--than you think. Nobody else can take that first step for you."
Raiko smiled gently at that, running her head up to scritch at Shiori's ears. "You really mean that?"
"Of course dear," said the familiar, closing her eyes to enjoy the affection. "Now make sure to eat up while your meal is still hot."
"Okay." Raiko pulled the cup to her and started to eat again. Between mouthfuls she said, "You know, you've always been there for me, huh?"
"Well, of course, dear. It is my duty, after all."
Raiko shook her head. "I mean, that too, but like..." She stopped eating for a moment and looked down at her cup. "I don't have any memories of my parents, you know? And sometimes I think about it, and it makes me really sad that I never got to know them. But... I've never felt like I didn't have a family. Because as far back as I can remember, there was always Grandpa, and there was always you."
She looked to Shiori and smiled shyly. "It was always the three of us, here in this house, and even when Grandpa had to go on trips, you were still here. And I know you had a duty, but... you guys couldn't be 100% sure I was going to inherit the Staff, even with all of the signs. And besides that, you played with me, you offered advice, and encouragement, and help with my homework, and... Even though there were things you couldn't do, like cook, that I had to learn to do on my own, you still reminded me to eat, when I forgot, or reminded me about the weather, and a whole bunch of other stuff..."
Shiori's tail, which had been swishing gently, slowly stilled. She was regarding Raiko with wide open eyes now, but could not bring herself to interrupt. Raiko was building to a point, she was sure, but she couldn't figure out what it might be.
Another blush graced Raiko's cheeks as she looked at her cup noodle again. "And, I dunno... I guess part of why I never missed my mom and dad that much is that... having you around always kind of felt like what I imagined having a mom was like. Y-you can't do all the same things other moms do, but you were still there, and you still cared... so..." Her cheeks turned redder as she wiped away something wet from her eyes with her hand. "Sorry, this is kind of embarrassing to say."
The familiar grew still, ears laid back in stunned silence. She dropped her gaze to the table as she considered those words. "It's... quite alright, dear. I am..." What was the right word here? "... honored, to know that you hold me in such high esteem."
Raiko sniffed a little and picked up her cup noodle. "A-anyway, once we finish empowering you, we'll be linked, and you're gonna know how I feel anyway, so... no reason to hold back, right?"
"Mm. Quite so, dear."
Standing up from the table with her cup, Raiko gave Shiori one last pat. "I'm... gonna go watch something on my laptop while I eat, okay? Maybe once Yumi-chan and Tama get here, we can try the ritual again?" She needed to give herself some emotional breathing room after making such a personal confession, and Raiko couldn't blame her one bit.
Shiori nodded, "Very well, dear." She listened as Raiko headed up the stairs, and turned her head to look out the window.
She had to go through with the ritual, for Raiko's sake. But could she, knowing what she knew?
